Undershot wad for shotgun shells



Dec. 31, 1963 N. D. CURRIE 3,115,835

UNDERSHOT WAD FOR SHOIGUN SHELLS Filed June 18, 1962 IN VEN TOR.

Norma/7 fl. 'u/w'e BY v Bildfiiid Patented Dec. 31, I963 free 3,115,%35UNDERSHQT WAD FUR SHQTGUN SHELLS Norman D. Currie, Scandia, Kans. FiledJune 18, 1952, Ser. No. 2%, l46 1 Qiaim. (Cl. 1612-42) This inventionrelates to a component utilized in the loading of shotgun shells, andmore particularly, to a wad normally disposed beneath the shot orpellets contained within the shotgun shell.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide anundershot wad for shotgun shells which has a void formed therein, thewad being disposed beneath the shot of the shell, there being a closurefor the void of such a material that when the shell is fired, theclosure will rupture or fracture whereby to allow the shot of the shellto move into the void of the wad, thus relieving the pressure upon thesides of the shell casing.

A yet further aim of this invention is to provide an undershot wad forshotgun shells which is substantially cylindrical in configurationwhereby the same may be easily disposed within a shotgun shell as thesame is being loaded, the wad having a substantially centrally disposedvoid therein, there being a closure for said void, the closure servingto support the shot of the shell.

It is a yet further object of this invention to provide an undershot wadfor shotgun shells which is configured in such a manner as to provide avoid area for reception of the shot of the shell upon firing of theshell whereby excess pressures upon the casing of the shell will berelieved and the shot will be allowed to occupy more space than thatoccupied prior to the firing of the shell, all to the end that the shotmay be fired with fewer deformed pellets whereby to improve theperformance of the shotgun shell.

Other objects of this invention include details of construction ofvarious types of undershot wads, as well as other structural features,which structural features thereof will become apparent from thefollowing specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a shotgun shell, parts of the casingbeing broken away to reveal details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a perspective, sectional view of an undershot wad for shotgunshells made pursuant to one form of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, sectional view of another form of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective, sectional view of yet another form of theinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective, sectional view of an additional form of theinvention.

The preferred form of undershot wad for shotgun shells is illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing and designated by the numeral 19. This wadis adapted to be disposed within a shotgun shell designated as 12,whereby to improve the over-all performance of the shell. Such a wad as19, or the wads made pursuant to further forms of the subject inventionas described hereinafter, are adapted to be utilized with any gauge ofshotgun shell and maybe constructed from any material which is suitable,it being preferred that a fibrous material be utilized.

The wad it} is in the form of a body 14 having a pair of opposed faces16 and 1-8, there being a substantially concave void 26 formed in face16, and a similar void 22 formed in face 18 of body 14.

The body 14- is generally cylindrical in configuration in order that thewad It may be accommodated within a conventional shotgun shell of anygauge and in this respect it will be appreciated that the circumferenceof the wad body 14 may be varied, depending upon the gauge of shellwithin which the same is intended to be utilized.

As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing, the wad it is disposed within theshell 12 directly beneath the shot or pellets 24, the other internalcomponents of the shell 12. including a filler wad 26; an over powdercup wad 28; a powder charge 3t}; an under powder cup wad 32.; a base wad34; and a primer 36. All of the above-mentioned components are containedwithin a conventional shotgun shell casing 38 having a metal casing orhead 40 disposed at the normally base end thereof, there being a crimpedclosure as at 42 at the other end of shell 12 whereby to retain theabove-mentioned internal components within their predeterminedpositions.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, voids 20 and 22 are provided withclosure means 44 and 46 respectively, said closure means consisting offlat discs of material which substantially overlie their correspondingfaces 16 and 18 of body 14.

Closures 44 and 46 are made from a paper material and are of asufficient thickness whereby the same may serve to fully support themajor portion of pellets 24 as illustrated in FIGURE 1 for instance, butyet are of a sufficient weakness whereby to allow the fracturing thereofupon firing of the shell 12 whereby to permit the shot or pellets 24 tomove downwardly as shown in FIGURE 1 and thereby occupy the void 2t}disposed therebeneath.

The modified form of invention illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawingtakes the form of an undershot wad 50 having a body 52 provided with acentral void 54, the void being formed by hollowing out the center ofbody 52 whereby to provide a pair of opposed end walls 56 and 58, and acontinuous annular side wall 69.

The undershot wads 10 and 50 are constructed in such a manner that theymay be disposed within shell 12 in a position with either face thereofsupporting and underlying shot 24 inasmuch as the voids of said wads areformed adjacent each of the faces thereof, and thus it makes nodifference which face is up when either wad It) or 59 is inserted withinthe casing 33 of shell 12. This, of course, results in economies inmanufacture inasmuch as the wads such as 10 and 50, may be fabricatedand thence disposed in suitable shell-loading apparatus in any positionor condition, and subsequently inserted within the casing in any suchposition. The modified form of invention illustrated in FIG. 4 takes theform of a wad 70 having a body '72 substantially cylindrical inconfiguration, the body having a pair of opposed faces 74 and 76, therebeing a void 7 3 formed in face 76 of the body, and a closure discoverlying said face '76- and void 73 serving as a closure member forsaid void. It will be appreciated that inasmuch as a void 78 is providedin only one face of body 72 of wad 70, care must be taken to insure thatwad 70 is inserted within a shell casing such as 38 with the void 78facing upwardly, that is disposed beneath the shot such as 24, wherebyto allow fracturing of the closure disc 80 upon firing of the shell andsubsequent movement of the shot into the void 78.

The further form of invention illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawing takesthe form of a wad having a body 92 of substantially cylindricalconfiguration, having opposed faces 94- and 96, there being a void 98provided in face 96. A closure member 100 is provided for void 98, themember 100 taking the form of a conical disc of material disposed inoverlying relationship to face 96 and void 98, the apex 102 of conicaldisc 100 extending away from the body 92 and into the shift 24 of theshell 12.

Here again, it will be noted that inasmuch as only a single void isprovided in the body 92., care must be exercised to insure that the wad94 is disposed within 3 the shell 12 with the void 98 positioned inunderlying relationship to the shot 24, whereby to allow fracturing ofthe closure member 100 upon firing of the shell and thus subsequentmovement of the shot or pellets 24 into the void 93.

It will be appreciated that in all forms of the invention hereinabovedescribed, there is provided an undershot wad which has a void in atleast one face thereof, the void being disposed beneath the shot orpellets of the shotgun shell and there being a closure member for thevoid which underlies and supports the shot of the shell.

The provision of the void in the face of the wad adjacent the shot, andthe closure member overlying the void, allows the wad to support,through its closure member, the shot of the shell subsequent to theloading thereof and during transportation and handling of the shell.However, when the shotgun shell is fired in the conventional manner, andthe powder charge 30 ignited and caused to explode, such explosionruptures or fractures the closure member which overlies the void in theface of the wad adjacent the shot of the shell whereby to allow the shotor pellets to move inwardly and thus into the void in the wad. Thismovement, resulting from the fracturing of the closure disc, isaccomplished at virtually the instant of the explosion of the powder andprior to the movement of the charge of shot from the shell. Thismovement of the shot into the void, allows the total charge of shot tooccupy more space in the shell than that occupied prior to the explosionWhich in turn reduces the pressure of the shot upon the casing of theshell, which in turn allows a reduction of the side pressure.Furthermore, the expansion of the space occupied by the shot, as abovedescribed, prevents a deformation of the shot or pellets and also tendsto elongate the charge of shot as it moves from the shell and throughthe bore of the gun from which the shell is being fired. This elongationof the shot charge permits the column of shot to move through the barreland choke, if any, with less friction and less engagement with the boreof the gun resulting in less deformation of the shot as it moves fromthe gun.

Tests have been conducted with wads such as illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, and it has been found that the provision of anundershot wad with a void therein, functioning in the manner abovedescribed, achieves a more uniform and concentrated pattern of shot; agreater velocity for the shot pellets as a result of the reducedengagement with the bore of the gun; a reduced recoil of the gun uponthe firing thereof result ing from a reduction in weight of the wad usedbeneath the shot charge; and a shorter wad flight, also resulting fromthe specific construction of the wad from a light fibrous material.

It has also been found that the undershot wad hereinabove disclosed anddescribed is capable of superior performance with any choke inasmuch asthe construction thereof allows the shot or pellets to move into thevoid upon the firing of the shell and prior to the pellets movingthrough the barrel of the gun and thus the choke, if any, which may beutilized in connection therewith, the foregoing being true regardless ofthe muzzle construction of the gun.

Additionally, the undershot wad gives a better polishing action thanthose heretofore known as a result of the outward movement of thecylindrical wall of the wad caused by the shot moving into the void.Thus, the wall of the wad is forced against the bore and through suchengagement, achieves a desirable and efiicient polishing action upon theinterior of the bore.

Tests have also shown that shells utilizing a wad such as hereinabovedescribed, have a longer effective range due to the increased density ofthe shot resulting from the provision of the void in the wad, and thatthe shot will furthermore achieve a higher velocity.

Thus, the performance of the shotgun shell is directly improved by theprovision of an undershot wad such as hereinabove described which islight in construction and Which has a void formed therein whereby toreceive a portion of the shot charge upon firing of the shell throughthe break-away feature incorporated in the closure member normallyoverlying the void, the specific improved results being hereinabovereferred to.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

An undershot wad for a shotgun shell having a casing, a powder chargeand a load of shot in the casing and a wad overlying the powder charge,said undershot wad being positioned above the over powder wad andcomprising a cylindrical body having a pair of opposed faces, therebeing a concave void formed substantially centrally of each of saidfaces, said body extending between said voids whereby to separate thevoids and render the same incommunicable, said voids each defining anannular shoulder on the respective face of the body within which thevoid is formed; and a flat, disc-like closure member overlying each ofsaid voids, the marginal edge of each of said closure members being incontact with its corresponding annular shoulder, one of said closuremembers underlying the shot of the shell and supporting said shot whenthe shell is unfired, said closure member being formed of a materialwhich will fracture upon firing of the shell whereby to allow the shotto move into the void therebeneath and thereby occupy a greater amountof space within the shell than prior to the firing thereof, the otherclosure member being of a similar material as that forming said oneclosure member whereby the undershot wad may be inverted when initiallyplaced within said casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS997,566 Leach July 11, 1911 2,144,780 Schuricht et al. Jan. 24, 19392,582,125 Holmes Jan. 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 652,108 Germany Oct. 25,1937 673,572 Great Britain June 11, 1952 1,026,819 France Feb. 11, 19531,177,916 France Dec. 8, 1958 438,808 Italy Aug. 28, 1948 1,058,302France Nov. 4, 1953

